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Sunday, December 21, 2014

It's almost Christmas, are you ready? Since I had to ship all my presents, they all went out last weekend, so there was nothing to do this weekend other than embrace sheer laziness. A Christmas party, some wine and holiday movies rounded it out. I'm officially *done* with my baking in as much that I've taken and given cookies everywhere they are supposed to go.

But I still have baking supplies. Including peppermint mini marshmallows. So, did I stop? No. I baked again.

A friend was asking me for fitness motivation last week...and I struggled. I've been putting eggnog in my coffee and eating cookies for breakfast. Except for today, when I had pie instead. The gym is still a thing, but more like 1-2 days a week instead of 4. Maybe I can get motivated to sign up for the New Year's Eve run here in Ka'anapali. It's the last run in the US for 2014 and the 1st run for 2015 (it starts at 11:50pm - very sneaky). But in the meantime? It's time for brownies.

What You Need

1 box brownie mix of your choice, along with the ingredients to make them (Trader Joe's truffle brownie baking mix all the way!)

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/4 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 cups of peppermint mini marshmallows

What You Do

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan with foil coated with cooking spray. Preheat the oven per your brownie mix instructions.

Prepare the brownies according to package directions and including the peppermint extract. Bake following package instructions, but remove them from the oven 5 minutes earlier.

Sprinkle the top of the brownies with peppermint baking chips, then the marshmallows and top with the chocolate chips. Bake for an additional 5 minutes so that the marshmallows get all puffy.

Remove from oven. If you want them hot and gooey, allow 5-10 minutes to cool and then cut and serve. To serve as regular brownies, allow to cool, then pull from pan with foil and cut into squares.

If you want to return them to their hot and gooey status later on, just pop them into the microwave for 15-20 seconds before you eat.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Aloha Friends!

We are racing towards Christmas and the inevitable flip of the calendar from 2014 to 2015. It also means you'll be dating things 2014 for at least a month or two of the new year. Winter in Hawaii looks a little different than in much of the rest of the country. It's definitely cooler and people are grabbing their hoodies and sweaters for those crisp, cool nights where it gets down to 65 degrees.

I know, right?

Mom and I went to Oahu for a couple days earlier this month to visit the big city and check out the Christmas decorations. Waikiki was really in the spirit - there are gorgeous trees in all the hotels and shops.

All the trees!

When we came back, I jumped into my holiday treat-making with enthusiasm, making some old favorites and trying some new recipes. If you ever need to make something that looks fun and festive while investing less than 20 minutes, pretzel sticks are the way to go. Get yourself some pretzels and Wilton candy melts or chocolate/white candy bark from the store and you're in business. Use the appropriate colors or sprinkles for the holiday, sports team etc.

No oven or stove needed. Just a microwave safe bowl and some wax paper.

This year I found Candy Cane Wilton candy melts for the first time. They are bright and minty. I think dipping Oreos might be a solid plan.

What You Need

Pretzel Rods (or any other pretzel of your choosing)

Candy Melts

What You Do

Melt the candy melts per the package directions. It's key that you use low power on your microwave. When the candy is mostly melted, stir it to melt the rest rather than putting it back in the microwave. You can dip the pretzels into the candy, or use a large spoon to scoop the melted candy and then roll the pretzels on the spoon (that's what I did). Put the pretzels on waxed paper to set.

In a climate with no humidity, candy melts dry super quick. If it's warm and/or humid where you live, put them in the fridge and they'll be set in no time.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Cookies!

Everywhere you look this time of year, you find cookies. What better way to celebrate the holidays than to give, receive, bake, bring or buy cookies? Have you ever brought cookies to an event and had people say "Ugh cookies?" Not going to happen.

This is my second year participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. Sharing cookies with someone you've never met and sharing the blog love as well. Everyone who participates is assigned three people. You bake your cookies and ship them off. In return, cookies come your way. Just like magic. Not to mention you get introduced to other food bloggers and enjoy treats that you didn't bake. It's wonderful!

To Give

I sent aloha by mail to Emily @ Life on Food, Danae @ Recipe Runner and Sarah @ Curious Cuisinere. If you're looking for some inspiration, hit up their blogs or get to instagrammin'. You'll also see what cookies they made for their lucky recipients.

To Receive

I love peppermint everything, so I was excited to get these treats delivered to my doorstep.

The Recipe

Now to share the recipe that I made: Hint of Hawaii Toffee Bars. Toffee and toffee bars have been a part of Christmas in our family forever. Now that I'm in Maui, it was logical to add some coconut and macadamia brittle to to the mix.

What You Need

Crust

3/4 cup butter/margarine

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup toasted coconut

Filling

1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping

2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark, or a mixture)

1/4 cup toasted coconut

1/2 cup toasted pecans

1/2 cup chopped macadamia brittle (I used Ed & Don's...and sent my cookie swap people a can of the macadamia brittle so they could try it out. You could also use more pecans, more coconut, toffee bits, etc)

What You Do

1. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we're rolling full steam ahead towards Christmas and (gasp!) 2015. I've had family visiting over the past two and a half weeks - great fun where we ate, drank and saw all the things. My Maui Eats List has gotten longer and longer.

I went back to work on Friday as a feeble attempt to get back in post-vacation frame of mind. Fortunately I have this weekend to recover from that one day. After walking to brunch and then going out for gelato, I took mom to the airport yesterday so she could start her journey back to winter (in the form of Western Illinois).

I made these cranberry bars on Black Friday. Black Friday is not as big of a thing since we're on a small island, but all the shops and big box stores were open and ready to take your money. It was raining and so we put up my Christmas tree and had some mai tais. Mom was committed to perfecting the mai tai while on vacation and my sister and I were her willing mai tai sippers.

So if it's winter where you are, and you need to feel a little aloha....make these bars while sipping a mai tai. You'll be in a Hawaii frame of mind in no time.

1 cup whole cranberries (you can chop them if you want, I opted to keep them whole)

1/2 cup coconut flakes

What You Do

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl stir the flour and sugar together. With a two knives (or a pastry blender if you have one handy), cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the 1/2 cup macadamia nuts. Press this mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes until light brown around the edges.

In another bowl combine the 1 1/4 cup sugar, eggs, milk, orange zest, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour over the hot crust. Sprinkle with the macadamia nuts, cranberries and coconut.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. If you want to cut in while warm, go ahead. Otherwise, wait until the bars cool, pull them out with the foil and cut them into bars.

Meanwhile in Maui...

We totally made the cinnamon roll turkeys that were all over Facebook and Pinterest for our Thanksgiving breakfast

And we went on an early season whale watch and saw the whales!

Don't let the busy-ness of the season keep you from enjoying activities and fellowship with your friends, family and church. The anticipation of Christmas is always my favorite part.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Normally this would be the time of year that holiday recipes would be in full force. But this week, I'm in staycation mode instead.....eating out instead of cooking in. My mom and aunt arrived on Wednesday night and my sister flew in last night. We're off for a week of adventures here in Maui.

I am participating in the Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year and I sent my cookies off to their respective homes earlier this week. I heard back from one of the bloggers already that my treats arrived safe and sound. It's so much fun getting cookies in the mail and benefiting Cookies for Kids' Cancer too!

Meanwhile in Maui...

Yesterday we went up to Haleakala National Park. It was a gorgeous day to go from sea level to 10,000 feet.

Flowers at Kula Lodge

Summit of Haleakala with Mom

Haleakala Crater

TJ treats imported from Illinois - Mahalo!

Whatever you and your friends and family do this Thanksgiving, I hope that you enjoy your time!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Candy corn and peanuts are one of my favorite fall snacking combinations. I'm not sure why I limit it to fall. Candy corn is, in fact, sold in stores year round. It's just tucked in small bags in the candy aisle rather than having front of the store product placement.

Growing up, I didn't care for caramel corn. Just regular popcorn with real butter, please. Commercial caramel corn still doesn't do it for me, but if it's homemade or from a small local popcorn place....that's a different story.

Last year at this time, the movers had already come to my house in Colorado and packed up all my stuff. I was in the midst of goodbye parties and the install of new carpet. Guess which was more fun?

Practicing our shakas

As I've mentioned before, since there isn't really a change of seasons, it's hard to switch gears into fall mode. To get in the Halloween spirit, I went to the Haunted Haiku Hike on Sunday. I've never been on a haunted hike before....though I have been to something creatively called Terror in the Corn.

My list of traditional fall type activities so far this year:

1) shopping for a Halloween costume

2) a haunted hike

3) making this popcorn

What You Need

10 cups of popped popcorn

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup salted peanuts, divided

1 cup candy corn....be honest, you can use as much as you want

What You Do

Line two 9x13 baking pans with foil coated with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 200.

Divide the popped popcorn between the two pans as well as the peanuts.

In a medium saucepan combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, cream of tartar and salt. Heat on medium until boiling, stirring consistently. Allow caramel to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add the baking soda. Whisk until fluffy. Pour half of the caramel over each pan of popcorn and use a spatula to toss and coat so that most kernels have a little caramel on them.

Bake for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes. When done baking, turn out onto waxed paper and sprinkle the candy corn. It won't readily stick to the popcorn, so you may want to push it a little bit. Let the popcorn cool and break into smaller pieces if necessary. Store in an airtight container.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Last weekend I was inspired to make two different kinds of cookies (here's the other one). Cookies cannot stay at home, so these went straight away to work to be shared with all and sundry. Please note the plate in this picture....that's the only fall color I'll be seeing this year other than on Facebook. It's also the only fall decoration that I have at all. So it's possible you'll be seeing it again.

It's hard to believe it's mid-October already. Halloween is a big thing in Lahaina, one of the biggest parties in the world, or so I'm told. My family is coming for Thanksgiving this year and then then Surfing Santa will be back up on display in Ka'anapali and a new year will be on the way!

I love oatmeal cookies, but not oatmeal raisin. I've always swapped the raisins for chocolate chips, and these cookies are no exception. A little cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice gives you a hint of fall flavors.

Sit back with a cup of coffee and a cookie. Enjoy October before it slips away.

Preheat oven to 350° and line your cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl combine butter/margarine with both granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium speed for several minutes until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla and the maple syrup.

In a separate bowl, combine all your dry ingredients: flour, pudding mix, soda, salt, and spices. Slowly add to the wet mixture and beat to combine. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and either beat at slow speed or stir in with a spoon.

I used a small cookie scoop and made about 3 dozen cookies. Bake 11-12 minutes if you like soft oatmeal cookies. Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack.

Last week I flew to Oahu for a conference. Oahu is smaller than Maui with a significantly bigger population. I read an article this year that referred to the traffic in Honolulu as soul-sucking. Oahu actually has three interstate highways, H1, H2 and H3. I was only there for a little over 24 hours, so didn't have time to explore Waikiki very much other than note that there are lots of people and an ABC store every 20 feet. When I checked into the hotel, they had a farmer's market in the lobby that was awesome.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

The good news is that Hurricane Ana has veered away and is not making landfall in Hawaii. However, the effects of her journey through the ocean have brought us a gray and rainy day. Perfect for hanging out guilt free inside and being kind of very lazy. The kind of lazy where you drink your souvenir Door County Coffee and eat a slice of pie. Legitimate breakfast, right? Since moving to Hawaii, I'm more likely to go out for shave ice than ice cream. However....my favorite ice cream spot on Front Street, Ono Gelato, has a deck on the back overlooking the ocean. And they sell these delicious cookies called Compost Cookies. I don't know what all is in them, but it doesinclude potato chips. This recipe that had some sweet and salty going on already and potato chips were a logical addition. Last weekend I made two different kinds of cookies and took them to straight into work on Monday. Between our employee concierge table and a mandatory manager training, they were gone in no time....with rave reviews. What You Need1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 egg1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 1/2 cups all purpose flour1/2 - cup stick pretzels, broken into smaller pieces1/2 cup Ruffles, or other ridged potato chips, broken into smaller pieces1/2 - cup Kraft caramel bits (surprised to find these - specific baking ingredients are hit or miss here in our stores)1/4 - cup butterscotch chips1/4 - cup chocolate chipsWhat You DoPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla and the egg. In a small bowl combine the salt, baking soda and flour. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix until combined.

Add the pretzel pieces, chips, caramel bits and chips into the dough and mix together using a spatula. Use a small cookie scoop (or a big one - your call based on how many cookies you'd like) to put them on your cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on a wire rack. I used a small cookie scoop and got about 27 cookies. Recipe slightly adapted from Mommy's KitchenMeanwhile in Maui...There isn't really a feeling of fall here - in fact September and October can be the hottest months of the year as the tradewinds tend to die down. Last weekend I went Upcountry and hiked the Waihou Spring trail near Makawao. That's where I found fall. It was 20 degrees cooler than it was in Lahaina. The smell of the pine trees and needles. The sound of rushing water. I felt like I could have been hiking in Colorado or Wisconsin. Amazing.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

We are a month or so into a weight loss competition at work. When the contest started, I committed to attending a 5:30am workout class every workday. I'm not giving up sweets altogether for three months, but I'm working on making better choices, bringing my own snacks, cutting down on hazelnut lattes, and eating more vegetables.

By preparing in advance and making dinners that have flavors that I really enjoy, I come home from work with a plan instead of relentless snacking. As for the contest? It goes until the Monday after Thanksgiving. I've lost a pound a week since we started, so if that trend continues, I'll be feeling good when December hits!

What You Need

3/4 cup light coconut milk

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup green beans

*Maui problems - there were no fresh beans when I went to the store, so I had to go with frozen

coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) for salad base

peanuts, lime and cilantro for garnish

curry powder to taste

What You Do

Combine coconut milk, cilantro, soy sauce, and lime juice in a large bowl. Add pork and stir to coat.

In a large skilled heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork mixture and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beans should be crisp and pork should be only slightly pink (and if you're not a pink pork person, cook a little longer).

Serve on a bed of 1 cup coleslaw mix. Garnish with a lime, peanuts, cilantro, and if you want a little kick, a sprinkle of curry powder.

Adapted from the September 2014 issue of Better Homes & Gardens

Meanwhile in Maui...

The sun is setting earlier and earlier, I caught this on my way home from work on Friday.

Also ham, egg, tuna or any other compound salad that has unknown ingredients mixed in. I don't know if it was a bad childhood experience with onion or relish or {GASP} both. If you said chicken salad, I said, "I'll pass."

This recipe is one that changed my mind about chicken salad.
I think it's because of the curry powder.

A friend was visiting Maui with her family this summer and while I was hanging out with them at their condo she said, "We're having chicken salad for lunch. Have you every tried the Colorado Cache chicken salad?"

What You Do
In a large bowl combine cubed chicken, grapes, celery and pecans. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over chicken mixture and toss to coat.

If you can wait until the next day, or even a few hours for the salad to chill, the flavors sink in even more. If not, it's still delicious! Serve on lettuce, in a tortilla or pita, or just eat with a fork.Adapted from My Mobile Recipes

Meanwhile in Maui...

Yesterday I went to the Maui Fair. It was really hot, so we spent a lot of time in the shade of the dining tent, surrounded by all the local food vendors. Every booth is manned by a local organization as a fundraiser. 11 months ago, I wouldn't have known what most of the food was (dry mein, chow fun, li hing mui pineapple, what?).

I enjoyed frosty POG, lumpia, and island ice (pina colada, mango, and li hing mui pineapple). Not pictured was the teriyaki burger that I devoured on contact.

Growing up, a highlight of the summer was going to the Rock County 4H Fair. My favorites there? Cheese curds and eclairs.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Where has the last month gone? I feel like it was just the 4th of July and the all of the sudden we are halfway through September.

Since my last post allthis has happened.....

First time golfing in forever (forever, ever...yes that long)

Snorkeling selfies with my sister

Sushi was consumed with enthusiasm

#100happydays continued

Adult beverages were served in mason jars

Live music!

Looking for ghosts

All the mountain vistas

This hamburger

These beautiful Wisconsin cheese curds

The gift of this amazing towel

Sipping Leinie's on the deck "up north"

And now? I'm done with vacation until November and we've got a weight loss challenge going down at work. So stick with me and hopefully I'll be trying out some healthy choices and saving things stuffed with Nutella and/or Bacon until later this fall.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

We are fortunate to have a cafeteria at work. To keep things interesting, we periodically come up with new and crazy things to do with the basic ingredients we have to work with....such as the person who floated a grilled Swiss cheese sandwich in their French Onion Soup. That person was not me, but I do it now because it's brilliant.

This week it was sandwich day in the cafeteria and we lucked out that we had an ice cream sundae bar as well. It's very rare to have cookies AND ice cream on the same day, so the minute I saw the big bowls of peanut butter and jelly, I knew what was going to happen. One big, bad, PB&J ice cream cookie sandwich.

What You Need

2 cookies of your choice

Peanut Butter and Jelly

1 scoop of ice cream

nuts for garnish (we actually have these every day for the salad bar - one more win!)

What You Do

Spread jelly on the bottom of one cookie and peanut butter on the other cookie. Put the scoop of ice cream on top of the cookie with the jelly. Press the cookie with peanut butter on top. Garnish with peanuts if you're feeling extra creative.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Great story, wasn't it? Actually, the margarita was after our super long hike through the crater at Haleakala National Park. I can't even say there is a technical name for the super long hike, because it's a couple trails put together, where you park one car at the summit and take the Sliding Sands trail past Holua Cabin to the Halemau'u trail head where you park the other car. So you need at least two cars, meaning at least 2 people. Would you really want to hike 11.5 miles through a volcano by yourself?

Our intrepid hiking crew

The endangered Haleakala Silversword blooming in the crater

Anyway....after our hike, we stopped for lunch in Paia at Millagros where margarita happy hour was happening on the patio. Li hing mui margaritas weren't on happy hour, but our server graciously had the bartender rim our regular margs with li hing mui powder and then, because we couldn't get enough, she brought a shaker to the table.

What is li hing mui? It's a salty dried plum. I had never had it, nor heard of it, before moving to Hawaii. In powder form, it's popular to put on shave ice, candy, and fruit. I bought some this week for the purpose of making cocktails. Living in Hawaii, a pineapple margarita seemed in order.

What You Need

6-8 one inch cubes of fresh pineapple

1 cup pineapple juice

1-2 shots of tequila, I used Sauza Gold

8 large ice cubes

li hing mui powder to rim the glass

pineapple for garnish

What You Do

To rim your glass, run a slice of pineapple along the top over the glass to give the powder something to stick onto. Turn the glass upside down into a dish of li hing mui powder.

Combine the pineapple, juice, tequila, and ice in the blender. Use the blend (or ice crush) setting until smooth. Pineapple tends to froth up, so it will look very light and airy.

Pour the margaritas into your glasses.

This recipe makes 2 servings, depending on the size of your glassware.